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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25713424">Northern Lights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa'>zenonaa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TogaFuka Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, there is one nsfw bit of dialogue right at the end, togafukaweek2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:01:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,342</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25713424</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>'“Don’t get me wrong. Even if we don’t end up seeing it, our honeymoon will still have been wonderful,” said Touko. “I’ve felt like I’ve been on a high the entire time. It’s just... when I think of aurora borealis, s-such a beautiful natural phenomenon... I think of our relationship, and how magical it is. It would have been nice to see it on our honeymoon, like a mint leaf on peach mousse.”'</p><p>Byakuya and Touko go on an ice cave tour as part of their honeymoon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fukawa Touko/Togami Byakuya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TogaFuka Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Northern Lights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There is nsfw dialogue right at the end. Touko is Touko, after all.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Barren trees sat in ragged clusters on and around the brown mounds surrounding the gravel car park. In the distance, snow dusted the tops of black mountains overlapping each other, their silhouettes stark against a cloudy backdrop like ink on paper. The chill of crisp air masked any aroma nature may have breathed. Touko rubbed her gloved hands together before returning them to the harness she was meant to be finishing putting on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the Icelandic car park, she didn’t have a pen and paper to scribble down all the similes and metaphors that sprouted in her mind’s garden. Condensation puffed out between her parted lips as she stared at the distant mountains, herself small unlike a mountain and human unlike a mountain. Her curious eyes traced over the mountains’ outlines while her hands fidgeted with her partially done up harness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next to Touko, her husband, Byakuya, reached over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, let me do that for you,” he said, and he secured Touko’s harness for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile glinted on her face. He progressed onto snapping the straps of her helmet into place. Unlike Touko, he had taken his gloves off temporarily to give his fingers more dexterity. Nearby, others also put on their hiking equipment over their outerwear, but she didn’t pay them any more attention. They chatted in languages she didn’t know fluently, such as French, German and Russian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that any of that mattered to her. She was here with her husband. Her husband. On their honeymoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There,” he said, with his hands either side of her head. “It’s on now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That just left her crampons to attach to her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Darling,” she replied, beaming up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya’s hands cradled her cheeks for a few seconds more before he nodded and turned away. She could still feel his touch linger as she watched Byakuya walk over to a white tub by the minibus they all arrived here in. From it, he drew out two ice axes, and then he padded back to her. He passed one to Touko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lower shaft was straight while the upper shaft curved slightly. Their tour group’s leader, a round woman with a fluorescent orange helmet and bright blue coat, flourished her axe and said something to the group. After she repeated it in another language, Byakuya translated for Touko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Straight shafted axes are ideal for flat planes and moderate slopes. Technical ice axes curve a lot more and are for higher grade slopes. We’re just ice-walking through some caves, so we’ve got axes between those two extremes,” he explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” said Touko with a bob of her head. Her helmet wobbled slightly, and noticing, Byakuya clicked his tongue and adjusted her straps again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Excitement vibrated through her body, but it came edged with nervousness. Yes, she survived a killing game. Yes, she survived a city where children murdered adults. And yes, she even survived her wedding’s afterparty where Yasuhiro drunkenly yowled into the karaoke machine. But here, she wasn’t confronted with someone to outwit, to outwait. This was nature.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya took his hands off her helmet, satisfied, and motioned to her feet. She still had yet to put her crampons on completely, just standing in them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you haven’t worn crampons before, try walking in them now rather than wait until we reach the glacier,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko hadn’t worn them before. Never had reason to. Never had anyone to give her reason to before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember how to walk in them?” asked Byakuya.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do,” she said, and she bent down to strap the crampons to her boots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Prior to the tour, the pair researched ice-walking online to give themselves an advantage, and the tour leader had gone over general things on the ride here that Byakuya translated. Touko inhaled and took a step forward while keeping her legs slightly more apart than usual, like a cowboy in an old western movie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t fall over. Good. Easy. So long as she didn’t shuffle and kept the sharp edges of her crampons away from her faux fur lined leggings, then she would be fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” said Byakuya, observing, having just put on his own crampons. He fixed his glasses into place. “We’re ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confidence glowed on his face. Byakuya shifted his weight and Touko suspected he had meant to take a step, but he instead lurched and started to tip over. Her heart jolted as she darted forward, ready to catch him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, he wobbled and regained his balance at the last moment so didn’t end up landing on her. He straightened with a pout, shoulders slumping. She sidled up to him and hooked her arm around his elbow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll put them on when we get there,” he mumbled. Touko rested her head against his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon, the tour leader called them all together, and they set off. She led the group down a gravel path with chocolate brown terrain either side of them. Not snow. Not yet. As they trekked along, admiring the scenery, the tour leader rambled on about miscellaneous facts that Byakuya translated for Touko, such as how glaciers covered ten percent of Iceland. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a ten-minute walk, the ground sloped down onto uneven, icy terrain.  Clumps of brittle ice dotted the landscape here and there, mixed in with rocks of various sizes. The layer of ice and snow was rather thin so didn’t blanket the ground completely, reminding Touko of a dark wooden kitchen surface that had sieved flour splattered across it. Anyone yet to put on their crampons did so now, and once the tour leader gave a brief safety talk, they ventured onto the field of ice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko squared her shoulders and marched forward, hearing the ground crack and grind under her feet. Initially, the sound made her waver, but the ground didn’t give way so she pushed on. She stayed close to Byakuya, using her ice pick as a cane despite the fact that even though the ground rose and fell, it wasn’t too cragged yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, it still wasn’t flat. At one point, Touko stumbled on one of the many rocks embedded in the ground and shrieked. Fortunately, Byakuya spun around, catching her before she could fall completely. Touko slumped into his chest, first because of momentum, but then she buried herself in him with relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you all right?” he asked, his axe planted in the ground next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A grin spread across her face as she looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It s-seems I’ve fallen for you,” she quipped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re married, so I should hope so,” he told her. He peeled Touko off his chest, holding her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shivered and scrunched her hands together. When she exhaled, she could see her breath spread its wings and fly. Her eyes followed her breath upward, and she stared at the colourless sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think we’ll see aurora borealis tonight?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To be honest, of all the activities to take part in and all the sights to enjoy here, seeing the northern lights ranked at the top of her list. She tried to imagine them now, imagine watercolours bleeding into a night sky, but the clouds absorbed her daydream before she could visualise even a few paint strokes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The locals can’t control the weather, but Iceland is one of the best places to see it,” said Byakuya. He let go of her and extracted his axe from the ground. “Still, the trip advisor said to have plenty of other things planned just in case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Such as ice-skating, hiking and visiting landmarks. Every night, Touko had stood at their cabin’s window, hoping to see the lights, but every night, she had curled up beside Byakuya without seeing any.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least she got blessed with the sight of his face beside her every morning. That more than perked her up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko shimmied her shoulders and simpered sweetly. “I don’t know, darling. We could spend two weeks in our cabin in bed and I would be more than happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya made an inarticulate noise between a grunt and a yelp and turned away. She snickered a little as they set off again. After several paces, though she continued to walk, she gazed at the sky and hoped it could somehow understand the desire gleaming in her eyes that longed to see the northern lights during their trip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the sky understood, it didn’t let on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From a distance, all they had been able to see were small hills, but as they wound through the ice field, they realised crevices ran through the terrain too. Some were thin, black dirt veins engraved in the icy flesh, some dry, some with hissing water that trickled through, ranging in width and depth. Some could accommodate a foot, others full bodies, and the walls either side of these indentions varied in height. Could reach up to an ankle or tower over a person. Then there were the different textures on the walls and mounds. Dusty. Chunky. Smooth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko brushed her gloved fingers across a wall crusted in crumbly snow before moving on, able to see Byakuya a couple of strides ahead. She spotted a hole in the ground nearby and peeked inside. So far, she had noticed a few of them. Some could allow a human to slide down their throats into the stomach, while others were not wide enough to fit more than an adult’s hand into their mouths. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As for this hole, when she crouched down to inspect it closer, she reckoned a person could slide down on their stomach and perhaps find themselves in one of the ice caves on the other side. Byakuya sauntered back to Touko, who glanced up. He adjusted his glasses, continuing to stand straight next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think we could fit down there?” she asked, focusing on the hole again. “J-Just the two of us? Such a secluded area... think of what we could get up to down there...!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hugged herself and trailed off, laughing under her breath, and knew Byakuya well enough to know without looking up that he wrinkled his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean like... kissing? In a block of ice?” he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her smirk grew, and she raised her head. Yep, his nose was wrinkled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want somewhere private, we have a cabin,” he pointed out. “We don’t need to risk getting trapped in ice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-We can still imagine, though,” she said. She stood up and leaned her hip against him, then her head against his shoulder. “I-Imagine... we tumble in and have to wait in a small air pocket until we’re rescued... while we’re stranded, we have to keep warm and share oxygen, so we... heheh...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ends of her lips climbed as high as they could go. Touko cupped one cheek and shuddered, keeping her other cheek pressed against Byakuya.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This place is incredibly inspiring. I’m already... feeling a bit warmer,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not,” replied Byakuya, fidgeting his scarf with a telltale blush across his cheeks. “So let’s carry on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snow crunched underfoot, and soon something else grabbed their attention. Up ahead, they discovered an ice cave, naturally made, with tunnels that they could walk through. Touko stared, mouth hanging open as they entered. As the tunnel wasn’t particularly long, light intruded and highlighted the lining of its throat. The cave tinged everything in a blue glow. In places, the texture on the walls reminded Touko of honeycombs. Ripples ridged the ceiling, motionless, frozen in time. It made Touko feel like she was walking through the bottom of the ocean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya nudged up his glasses, looking around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“During the summer, warmer temperatures and sunlight melt the ice at the surface of the glacier,” he told her. “The water drains downward through cracks, sinkholes and moulins, melting the ice at the bottom. This creates the area which we’re walking through now. It will freeze over again when it’s colder, only to happen again. Year to year, the formations change... we’re seeing a formation that will not exist this time next year, or even ever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko placed a hand over her heart. The tour leader happened to be nearby and stared at them with a polite smile. Byakuya said something to her in English, which Touko assumed was what he just told Touko in Japanese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right!” said the tour leader in English, sounding impressed. “It sounds like someone has done their research.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Much of Touko’s understanding of English was restricted to written form. She glared at the tour leader but said nothing, tugging on Byakuya’s arm and leading him away. The cave was a simple tunnel, and they could see the light at the other end, but Touko and Byakuya approached it casually, in no hurry, drinking in their surroundings. A range of blues inhabited the icy walls. Some areas were speckled black, while others sported clear blues and creases of white.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not long after they left that cave, they entered another. This one had a lower ceiling, crystallic with icicles hanging down from it. However, though the ceiling consisted of translucent whites and blues, the ground was coal black. Touko fumbled with her camera, stored in her satchel, and took a few photos. Then she turned to Byakuya and snapped one of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So handsome.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her finger pressed the button again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His sandy blonde hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dreamy blue eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kissable lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked as if the Gods themselves had chiseled him from their finest marble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko snapped another photo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And some more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She giggled dreamily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya noticed and gave a small sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will end up filling the memory card with just photos of me. Let me take a few,” he said, and she readily handed him the camera. He looked around, his finger on the capture button, then aimed it at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko stiffened, but he didn’t take a photograph like she expected. Instead, he positioned himself next to her, holding the camera an arm’s length away from them and pointing it at their faces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you taking a selfie?” she asked, nervously rotating the handle of her ice axe in her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he said. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a child, Touko often avoided being in photographs. Classmates would take them of her to ridicule later. Some people were honest about their cruel intentions, guffawing in her face, but others weren’t upfront about it. Even so, she would hear their muffled laughter, pick out her name buried in whispers. Byakuya, however, played no tricks, and Touko relaxed as he pressed on the camera a few times to capture images of them together, then he checked to make sure he had taken a picture in case he hadn’t pressed hard enough without realising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These ones are a bit blurry. Let’s try again,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After he took another round of photos, they strolled forward, and he occasionally snapped a photo of something nearby. Their footsteps plopped as their boots stamped on puddles of water. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the end of the cave was a lip-shaped opening, revealing a dim blue sky past its prime. Touko’s stomach tightened. Not long from now, they would either see the northern lights or not see them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This way, Touko,” Byakuya called out, waving his arm. He had slipped ahead. She hurried after him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They investigated more caves, then an hour later, they returned to the minibus which drove them to their original meet up area. The temperature outside dropped, evening air nipping at their exposed faces, and before they retired to their cabin for the night, Byakuya and Touko stopped by the restaurant where they enjoyed kjötsupa – a traditional lamb meat soup, enriched with herbs and vegetables that balanced the savoury meat with low-key sweetness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throughout dinner, Touko’s eyes flickered between her husband’s face and the window that taunted her with a stubbornly black sky. All she could see were stars sprayed across it. No ethereal lights. A tremor in her chest made her feel fuller quicker, but though she ate slowly, she persevered, eating most of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite how full she felt, though, the fluttering in her stomach still had room to bat its wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the end of the meal, they had warmed up considerably, and full up after their flavourful, peppery soup, they retreated to their cabin. The wooden plank interior offered warmer hues than the ice caves, brimming with lush browns, and not just the walls but the furniture too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya and Touko went into different rooms to disrobe from their outer gear. Touko popped into the bathroom and came out in a pink onesie with a cat-eared hood, gifted by Komaru. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Byakuya had changed into a set of fleece pajamas, composed of a navy long-sleeved top and checkered dark green bottoms. Hearing the door, he turned toward it, sitting on their bed, and raised his eyebrows but said nothing, observing her quietly as she trod over to the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Black sky. Black as the deepest recesses in the ice caves. No aurora. Not yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Assuming it would even come. They had one night here after this, and then that would be it. The ice caves had proven to be an enjoyable distraction, but now she couldn’t avoid the fact they hadn’t seen the lights. She heaved a sigh and heard Byakuya join her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we don’t get to see it?” she asked, clutching the window ledge. “We might not be able to afford to come here again anytime soon...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not with the Togami Conglomerate’s forced termination years back. Not after Touko’s parents drained her account dry years back. Not with their teachers’ salaries. Neither would trade in the lives they had now, not for anything, even for a chance to witness the northern lights, but that didn’t mean Touko couldn’t wistfully stare at the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get me wrong. Even if we don’t end up seeing it, our honeymoon will still have been wonderful,” said Touko. “I’ve felt like I’ve been on a high the entire time. It’s just... when I think of aurora borealis, s-such a beautiful natural phenomenon... I think of our relationship, and how magical it is. It would have been nice to see it on our honeymoon, like a mint leaf on peach mousse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she peered out of the window, Touko imagined. Imagined herself and Byakuya, holding hands while the sky flared in front of them, when in reality the sky may as well have been a chalkboard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t answer right away. She didn’t look at him either, absorbed in thought. Then, Byakuya piped up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think our relationship is more than that,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko tensed and turned to him. His brilliant eyes were fixed on hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What we have together is more than natural or a coincidence,” he explained. “The timing... Our victories, battles, and traumas... Perhaps, what we have together could be described as supernatural because of how perfectly everything lined up, as if we were destined to be together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words blew a gust through Touko that both rejuvenated her and knocked the wind out of her. She breathed in, found herself unable to speak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like you said, it would have been ideal if we could have witnessed the lights,” said Byakuya. “But being with you... is far greater than any force of nature.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The back of her eyes felt hot and she nodded, which seemed enough for Byakuya, who took her hand and led her to the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you read to me for a while?” he asked. “I packed some books.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He showed her a selection of them, and she shuffled through them. Mystery. Mystery. Mystery novel. Then she saw a familiar cover and froze. Stared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She went, “That’s...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... one of yours, yes,” he said. “I believe you published it during our first year at Hope’s Peak? It’s one of your books I haven’t got around to reading yet. I would like you to read that, if you would.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course!” Touko blurted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two settled on the bed, with Byakuya resting his head on her lap, and she began reading from the first page of the book. It focused on a girl who moved into a boarding school after escaping a cannibalistic cult, though she had never eaten human meat herself, and at the school, she fell in love with a student whose parents had arranged for him to marry someone who he didn’t connect with, didn’t love, who wanted him solely for his fortune.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko cringed in places at some of the phrasing. A voice in her head told her how she would write it now. How she would simplify this sentence, or use a synonym with a different connotation. Despite what she considered to be its flaws, Byakuya betrayed nothing, listening contently as she read aloud. As if he didn’t notice them, or even perceive them as flaws.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Initially, she put on a distinct voice for each character, but then stopped, though when she did, Byakuya spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not the voice you did before,” he told her, so she resumed doing them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Occasionally, Touko snuck glances at the window, and an unlit sky greeted her each time. Her heart sank a bit whenever this happened, but she refused to let it dampen her spirits, remembering what she had said to him and treasuring what Byakuya had said to her. She didn’t need to see the lights, not when they had their relationship that was infinitely more precious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It still would have been nice though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More than nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the night wore on, she felt herself grow more and more tired, and Byakuya’s eyes crept shut. Touko was tempted to call it a night when she gave the window of their room one last check, and this time, she gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I see something!” she yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In her haste, she nearly dropped her book on Byakuya’s head as she scrambled off the bed. Byakuya sat up, grabbed their camera off the bedside table and crawled off after her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A green streak writhed in the sky. He opened the window and began recording it, though he watched it unfiltered too. One moment, the light was shaped like a fishhook, and in the next, it straightened before curling up into a ball and melting into the weaker green hue surrounding it. Seconds after that, the green streak returned, yawning larger, brighter. It danced with the whole sky as its stage, and a faint green hue spread out from around it. As it soared, more vivid streaks of light emerged to perform alongside it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gradually, the entire sky became tinted green. Touko held her breath, gripping the window frame tightly. They could still see the night sky through the green shroud, sprinkled with stars. She propped her head against Byakuya’s shoulder. Byakuya shifted. Not to move away though. He wrapped his arm around her middle. Kept his hand on her side furthest from him. Held her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then pink light filtered in through the sea of green. It swam in the emerald ocean, twisting and leaping and billowing. The colours mixed together into a milky swirl that couldn’t help but ooze green and flare pink. Touko managed to tear her gaze away for long enough to sneak a glimpse of her husband. Byakuya was still engrossed with the light display, his lips pressed into a frown that wasn’t unhappy, just thoughtful. She turned back to the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, clouds rolled over, and the lights lost their intensity until the pair could barely discern them. They stayed at the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko wrung her hands together. Spoke first. “T-That was beautiful...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was,” Byakuya agreed just as soberly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He removed his arm from around her and gently deposited the camera onto the bed. It made a dull thump, and he picked his phone up off the bedside table. Flicked the screen on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two ante meridiem. It’s quite late,” he noted, and she stirred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Earlier, when she thought the lights weren’t going to happen, she had been prepared to end the night there on the bed. Nearly fallen asleep too. Now, however, she was full of energy, which meant she could pull off what she had prepared for earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought of it energised her further. Electricity scuttled up her body. Burst out of her in a squeak. Touko twitched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-Wait!” she exclaimed, thrashing her hands. “We can’t go to sleep. N-Not yet...!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byakuya blinked. She unzipped the front of her onesie and stripped it off, dragging the outfit down to her feet. His breath caught in his throat as she straightened up. He stared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that my underwear?” he asked, eyeing the black thong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko nodded. It was all she was wearing now. Byakuya pursed his lips and turned his head to one side. Pushed up his glasses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wondered why you were wearing that thing,” he admitted, referring to her onesie. “And why you got changed in the bathroom this time. I mean, that thing isn’t ugly... but...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cat girls can be sexy, right?” she asked him, and she pawed the air with one hand for good measure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. No. I mean, only if it’s you,” he said, getting redder and redder. “It’s just... It’s funny you did that, because...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered which funny he meant. Byakuya unbuttoned his pajama shirt from the top. As more of his chest became exposed, Touko’s mouth cracked open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-That’s...” Touko started, trailing off. He pulled down his pajama trousers. She ogled him. “That’s my underwear...!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her red bra and panties, to be precise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It seems we had the same idea,” he said, gesturing to himself. “So I assume we also thought up the same thing that happens next?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touko whispered in his ear. His eyes widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I didn’t plan for that much anal, but I’ll take it,” he said, and he pulled her onto the bed, on top of him, and the night carried on with both of them smiling brighter than any lights that had been outside.</span>
</p>
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